Myanmar ferry capsizes; 20 dead, many missing

At least 20 people were killed when a boat carrying scores of wedding guests collided with a river barge at night in western Myanmar, authorities said Saturday, with more feared drowned as rescue workers renewed their search in daylight.

Most of the dead were women, according officials, who said the boat sank Friday evening on a river in Pathein, a port city west of the commercial capital Yangon.

“We estimate nine people are still missing,” he said, adding that some 30 people had been rescued alive the night before.

The boat was believed to be carrying between 60 and 80 people when it sank, according to state media and a local police officer.

Fatal boat accidents are common in Myanmar, where many people living along its flood-prone rivers rely on often overcrowded ferries for transport.

It often takes several days before all of the bodies are retrieved. Last October 73 people, including many teachers and students, died when their packed vessel capsized in central Myanmar on the Chindwin River.

Earlier that year in April at least 21 people, including nine children, died after their boat sank off the coast of Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine.

Around 60 people died the year before, in March 2015, when their ferry went down in the same treacherous waters off of Rakhine.